Over the past 3 months, our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia has completed 3 new clinic projects:

• a new clinic in Jatun Mayu (our 163rd clinic project in Bolivia)
• a clinic expansion in Candelaria (our 164th clinic project)
• a new clinic in Villa Rosario (our 165th clinic project)

The Jatun Mayu clinic was a collaboration with the local municipality and community, Mano a Mano, and a number of Rotary Clubs in the Upper Midwest (you can see a full list of Rotary Clubs here).

The projects in Candelaria and Villa Rosario were a collaboration with the local municipalities and communities, Mano a Mano, and Medical Educators for Latin America (MELA).

Mano a Mano Candelaria Clinic (photo by Karl Everett)

Mano a Mano Jatun Mayu Clinic Dedication (photo provided by Karl Everett)

Mano a Mano’s Clinic Program

With the new clinics, medical professionals working in the community will have a much more comfortable working environment (which is very important for retaining staff in isolated rural communities), and community residents will have regular access to quality health care services provided through the Bolivian Health Ministry.

Our clinic program’s approach is that health outcomes can be dramatically improved with simple yet effective interventions, beginning with the basic ability to consistently access quality services in their own communities. As a Mano a Mano clinic, it will have Volunteer Health Promoter Training and Continuing Health Education workshops provided through our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Bolivia; it will also receive equipment and supplies to ensure that it is fully-furnished, and is connected with Mano a Mano Bolivia medical staff via radio for help with any difficult cases or issues.

Story courtesy of Mano a Mamo's website.

The week we are welcoming Dan Hatfield from the Human Development Center.  Dan Hatfield has been a supervisor for the ARMHS department at the Human Development Center (HDC) in Duluth since 2016. Dan worked as a Community Support Provider Case Manager at HDC in Superior from 2011 to 2016.  He taught at Kishwaukee College and Waubonsee Community College in Illinois from 2006 to 2010.  Dan's academic degrees include ABD in Ed.D in Teaching and Learning at UMD, MA in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University, and M.S. Ed in Community Counseling from UWS.  He was born in Duluth, gradated from Two Harbors High School, and met and married his wife Sarah while in Illinois who is from New Jersey.

Truth Decay and Post-Truth

Truth decay is defined by the following four characteristics: (1) the blurring of fact with opinion, (2) confusion on interpretation of facts and data (3) the increasing emphasis of opinion over fact in public discourse, (4) decline of trust in formally trusted sources of fact and data.  The result of truth decay is the erosion of civil and national discourse and is represented by the rise of ‘alternative facts’, ‘fake news’, ‘filter bubbles’ and ‘echo chambers’ that are shaped by sociological and technological changes to the way people receive and interact with media and news and form judgements regarding personal and political opinions.